1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to a two-piece buckle which is useful for coupling a back supporting belt to suspenders and the like which will breakaway or decouple when placed under a heavy load. More particularly, the invention relates to such a buckle whose individual buckle pieces can swivel in the plane of the buckle to facilitate adjustment and proper orientation of the shoulder straps of the suspenders for ease of use.
2. Description of Related Art
Two-piece breakaway type buckles for coupling lower back supporting belts, such as heavy lifting belts, to the shoulder straps of suspenders are known in the art. A conventional back supporting belt-suspenders combination known in the art is illustrated in FIG. 1. The belt 5 is coupled to the suspenders by a multiplicity of breakaway buckles 20. Each buckle includes a first member 21 which is sewn to the back support belt and a second member 22 containing a cross bar for securing a strap 10 of the suspenders. As can be seen from FIG. 1, the first and second members are coupled at a hinge 23 which permits the second member to pivot with respect to the first member. Specifically, the second member can pivot about the hinge in directions transverse to the plane of the buckle (i.e., the second member can pivot around the hinge in and out of the plane of the buckle). The purpose of allowing for this pivoting movement is to facilitate storage and use of the belt-suspenders combination.
The hinge connecting the first and second members of the breakaway buckle of the prior art is not permanent. Rather, the second member may be decoupled from the first member to permit a person to use the back supporting belt without the suspenders. The ability to decouple the first and second members at the hinge is also a safety feature. Such back supporting belt-suspenders combinations are often worn by persons engaged in heavy lifting near machinery and the like. In the event that the suspenders become caught in machinery, the breakaway buckle will decouple when subjected to a predetermined load.
One drawback to the hinge-type breakaway buckle known in the art is that the first and second members cannot swivel with respect to each other in the plane of the buckle. Rather, they can only pivot transverse to the plane of the buckle. This limitation can make it difficult for the wearer of the back supporting belt-suspenders combination to properly adjust the shoulder straps of the suspenders to the wearer's shoulder width when placing the garment on. In addition, the belt-suspenders combination which includes the breakaway buckle of the prior art can restrict a full range of movement due to the inability of the breakaway buckles to swivel in their own plane.